Wednesday, August 23, 2017

I
never heard of consultant Walter Sabo before he arrived in Los Angeles
in 1984 to destroy KHJ (930 AM) by instituting a format revolving around
traffic reports.

I’m
kidding. Truth be told, Sabo didn’t destroy the once-legendary top-40
station at all -- that honor belongs to some of his predecessors -- and
while I disagree with some of the moves he made at KHJ (including
changing call letters to KRTH-AM) and sister KFRC/San Francisco (radio
game shows), it turns out there’s a lot more to Sabo than meets the eye.

In a recent “10 Questions With ... Walter Sterling a/k/a Walter Sabo” on AllAccess.Com,
Sabo hit the nail on the head multiple times, from talk shows to
weekend programming to ratings. Much of the conversation centered on
compelling programming.

Sterling
is the last name he uses as Sunday night talk host on
WPHT/Philadelphia, where he earns high ratings by (gasp!) not talking
politics on his (gasp! again) AM radio show.

On
political talk: ratings for political talk stations have been
essentially flat and “the few talk stations that have actual increases
-- not a tenth of a share wobbles -- cover a wide range of subjects all
day.”

On
his own show: “In show-prep, I hyper-focus on what two friends would
probably have talked about that afternoon and present that conversation.
I also ask for calls and give the phone number -- surprisingly, many
hosts do not.”

Sabo
continues: “The closer to home, the better the subject. If you care
passionately about a subject, it's not fluff, it's important ... Parent
teacher conferences, losing weight, finding romance, putting out the
engine light and realizing that once again you have no spare cash are
subjects that elicit passion from many people.

On
weekend programming: “Infomercials rob a station of about 1/3rd of its
potential (number of listeners). Saturday 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. is the second
highest “homes using radio” daypart. Putting infomercials on during
that time easily cuts a 1 share from the total week audience delivery.

The main point of his philosophy: offer compelling, entertaining programming always and a station will do well. AM or FM. Isn’t that the whole idea?

Speaking of AM Radio

I
am a firm believe in AM radio. My feeling is that -- as mentioned above
-- compelling programming will bring in listeners no matter the band.
More specifically, I want to take over a money-losing AM station and
successfully program it ... or at least convince the Catholics to give
me a few weekend hours to play top-40 music on KHJ. But I digress.

I
happened to run across a group on Facebook called I Love AM Radio and,
of course, immediately joined. The first (linked) article I read?

Written
by Dick Taylor, it is quite a depressing read. AM is doomed because no
one listens. He doesn’t really get into why they don’t listen, but he is
accurate when concludes that few radio listeners tune to AM.

But
the why is extremely important. Is it interference? Yes. Is it bad
radios? Yes. But there are short-term and longer-term solutions to those
important issues. What any good owner and any good programmer will tell
you is that compelling programming thing again. The responses to the
story on Facebook were surprisingly positive and uplifting, echoing my
own thoughts.

Is
it coincidence that the last respectful ratings earned by KLAC (570
AM), XETRA (690 AM), KEIB (1150 AM) and others was when they played
music? Why does KSUR (1260 AM), playing oldies, have a strong following
in spite of a signal that doesn’t even cover much of the Los Angeles
ratings zone? How are KFI (640 AM) and KNX (1070 AM) competing? They
provide good programming you can’t find elsewhere.

The
point is, whether it is music, news, or talk, if you provide what
people want (and promote it!) they will listen. Perhaps if more
programmers followed that idea, people would tune in to AM more often
and receiver manufacturers would start building better radios again ...
including special circuits that are able to minimize interference and
improve the sound.

Chargers Update

Alt
98.7 FM dodged a bullet. According to sources close to the scene, it's
been decided that LA Chargers football games will NOT air on 98.7 or any
FM, only KFI. Pregame programming will simulcast on two other iHeart
stations, KLAC and KEIB. I imagine the staff at Alt must be relieved.